Stress Relief
by harley.doll
Summary: Sam's NOT cheering Freddie up to help him; she's doing it for Carly. Or so she tells herself. Rated T for a touch of naughty language.


[AN: _Sadly, I own nothing but the concept. Enjoy!_]

Sam Puckett does _not _care about Freddie Benson. He is a nub and therefore socially beneath her. Initially he was only a blip on her radar because of his obsession with Carly. She only associates with him now because of iCarly. He is simply the nub she cannot get rid of, nothing more and nothing less.

But when Freddie gets upset, Carly gets worried, and it doesn't take much for "worried" to turn in to "a little on the frantic side" with Ms. Shay. So when Sam decides to shake Freddie out of his funk, she tells herself that it was to prevent the mini-meltdown Carly would have if he didn't perk up. It was _not_ because she enjoyed seeing his eyes crinkle when he smiled and it most definitely had nothing to do with the stupid butterflies she felt in her chest when he gave her the "sometimes I can't believe the things you do" look. The one she secretly hopes he'll never give to anyone else (a hope only acknowledged at night in her room in the dark, where only the walls and the moon can hear her secret).

She strolls into class and takes her usual seat calmly. Carly and Freddie exchange a look, and then turn to her. She smiles to herself, then looks up at them expectantly.

"Staring is rude," she says.

"I thought you said you weren't coming to class today," Carly says, slightly mystified.

"No, I said I wouldn't _be_ in class today. The devil's in the details Shay," Sam replies, smiling. Freddie simply shakes his head and takes out his book, paying rapt attention to the teacher (whose name Sam can't place despite spending five months in his class; therefore she refers to him as "After Lunch Teacher"), who had begun his terrifying spiel on the difficulty of their final. It took him ten minutes to notice that Sam had her feet on her desk, nodding her head to Cuttlefish's latest single.

"Samantha," he droned. "Would you like to join our discussion?"

"Nope," Sam replied cheerfully. "But thanks for the invitation."

After Lunch Teacher sighed. "Let me rephrase that: Take your feet off the desk, put away your PearPod, take out your book and participate."

Sam slid her feet off of her desk and leaned forward. Had After Lunch Teacher known Sam the way Carly and Freddie did, he would have known that the light in her eyes told of mischief and mayhem about to be made. But he didn't, and so Carly and Freddie could only hold a collective breath and hope that Principal Franklin had _really_ enjoyed the last iCarly.

"No thank you," Sam said. The mischief had moved into her voice now too.

Carly groaned and put her head on the desk. "I can't watch," she said. Freddie, entranced by the scene unfolding before him, couldn't answer.

"Samantha, I am the teacher and you have only one option: do as I say."

Sam pretended to consider his warning, building suspense for her audience. She looked him in the eye and smiled.

"Fuck that."

Half of the class laughed. The other gasped. Carly groaned again this time throwing in an "Oh, Sam." Sam leaned back, placing her hands behind her head and smiled. While After Lunch Teacher turned purple and searched his mind for an appropriate punishment, she turned her head ever so slightly to look at Freddie.

Their eyes met, and for a split second he looked exasperated. And then she saw it. A twitch at the corner of his mouth. She smiled even wider, and she saw the stress and frustration leave his eyes. She saw him bite his lip to try and hold back his laughter. She saw the tears of said laughter well up in his eyes. She winked, and he broke.

Carly's head lifted slightly at the sound. She stared as Freddie laughed harder than he had since two weeks ago when Ridgeway's dictators had begun telling horrifying stories of students who don't pass finals. She looked at Sam who continued to watch Freddie with a smile on her face. Sam looked up at her, and Carly understood.

She understood why Sam took her ejection from the class in stride and why she had risked her tenuous arrangement with Principal Franklin ("Just behave for two more weeks Sam, and next year you can start with a completely clean slate. I'll even turn a blind eye the first few days of next year if you pass all your finals."). As she watched Sam turn to take one more look at the recovering Freddie, Carly thought that maybe, she understood things a little bit better than Sam herself.


End file.
